If I wasn't so busy this morning, I'd photoshop the "LIBS! LIBS! LIBS!" out of that picture of the crazy straightjacket guy and replace it with "DRONES! DRONES! DRONES!"

I'm guessing this is done more as a cost saving measure that will prevent local governments from wasting money on these things than a worry over civil liberties. After all, this is Virginia, and there's a lot of gun nuts here. Take one UAV, add some drunken hillbillies with guns, and you get "LOOK OUT, CLETUS! EETS A WHIRLEY-BIRD AND IT'S HEADED STRAIGHT FUR US!!!" BANG BANG BANG.

Not enough info in TFA- "Drone" could refer to anything from a $200 RC helicopter with a camera to a Reaper, and who does the ban effect?

I can't imagine the bill says anything like "RC planes with cameras are banned". Given that the number of drones in the hands of private corporations and private owners vastly outnumbers the few that the police own, it seems an odd bill

VA has been one of the few states to really take probable cause to heart over the past decade. Across the border where I live in MD, we have red light cameras, speed cameras, CCTV cameras, and now they're talking about going ahead with stop-sign cameras (if you don't come to a complete stop for 4 seconds, they'll ticket you). In VA they have none of that. There seems to be the belief that probable cause means that someone has to at least be manning the equipment and making the decision that "I think that person is doing something wrong" instead of assuming everyone guilty and monitoring all of them.

tallen702:Across the border where I live in MD, we have red light cameras, speed cameras, CCTV cameras, and now they're talking about going ahead with stop-sign cameras (if you don't come to a complete stop for 4 seconds, they'll ticket you). In VA they have none of that.

Virginia does have a few red light cameras. There are two on the main road just around the corner from here.

Whats funny about this new law is that Virginia is home to CIA HQ and Langley AFB (Air Combat Command HQ). Both of which are in direct control over most of the drone fleet.

so, either they spend a lot of money on helicopters to spy on me, or they spend less money on drones to spy on me (and stop risking the lives of pilots, and decrease noise pollution)... not particularly concerned. i have no expectation of privacy outside my house.

Newport News: Intersection of Oyster Point and Jefferson, and Mercury and Jefferson.And from VDOT, a list of all approved intersections. (includes Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington County, among others)

Since VA has many forests and a drone would aid in searches 24/7 for escaped felons let's see who wins out on this. Many drones are just cameras with wings, he is pandering to the paranoid segment of his constituents when he could be focused on his state's low test scores, high poverty and unemployment. Way to go!

As a long time resident of Virginia, I can say with 100% confidence that our politicians do nothing but pander to votes. I'm on my senators mailing lists, and the crap they send me is just downright misleading. So when you see a law like "no drones over your homes!" its literally nothing but a publicity stunt for someones reelection campaign, and they have no intention of actually enforcing the law or not including loopholes that still allow them to do whatever they want. Its literally propaganda.

Newport News: Intersection of Oyster Point and Jefferson, and Mercury and Jefferson.And from VDOT, a list of all approved intersections. (includes Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington County, among others)

Was going to post the same intersections - currently sitting in an office at CNU, drive through the damn things on a daily basis. I'm always supremely wary of turning right against one, because I've seen them flash after someone came to a full three second stop and then moved on, but people round here go nuts if you try and just sit there and not turn.

So is there where they are going to make criminals out of everyone who owns an RC airplane/helicopter that has a camera on it? So...the law to protect children, is going to actually end up sending them to jail?

tallen702:VA has been one of the few states to really take probable cause to heart over the past decade. Across the border where I live in MD, we have red light cameras, speed cameras, CCTV cameras, and now they're talking about going ahead with stop-sign cameras (if you don't come to a complete stop for 4 seconds, they'll ticket you). In VA they have none of that. There seems to be the belief that probable cause means that someone has to at least be manning the equipment and making the decision that "I think that person is doing something wrong" instead of assuming everyone guilty and monitoring all of them.

Not completely true, the intersection of the Fairfax Co. Parkway and Popes Head Rd. has one, but only for southbound traffic.

Katolu:tallen702: VA has been one of the few states to really take probable cause to heart over the past decade. Across the border where I live in MD, we have red light cameras, speed cameras, CCTV cameras, and now they're talking about going ahead with stop-sign cameras (if you don't come to a complete stop for 4 seconds, they'll ticket you). In VA they have none of that. There seems to be the belief that probable cause means that someone has to at least be manning the equipment and making the decision that "I think that person is doing something wrong" instead of assuming everyone guilty and monitoring all of them.

Not completely true, the intersection of the Fairfax Co. Parkway and Popes Head Rd. has one, but only for southbound traffic.

Okay, good point. I know I've seen that one. I've never seen it working though. Just like there's a camera at the end of the DCA property on the GW Parkway, but nobody gets a speeding ticket from it. I kinda figured they were ruled against and inactive.

pute kisses like a man:so, either they spend a lot of money on helicopters to spy on me, or they spend less money on drones to spy on me (and stop risking the lives of pilots, and decrease noise pollution)... not particularly concerned. i have no expectation of privacy outside my house.

Oh yeah... mixing drones that cannot "see and avoid" in airspace with manned aircraft is a great way to avoid loss of life.

I mean, why is this any more of a concern than manned aircraft? Unmanned drones are still regulated by the FAA, y'know, subject to the same restrictions on flight plans and altitude and so on just like rockets and balloons.

mizchief:Now that it's relatively quick and easy, people still spend all day once a week washing clothes, but at a much higher volume since (other than farkers) change them every day if not several times a day.

Is that really that common? For most Americans, a standard outfit involves jeans and a heavy shirt, seven pairs of jeans is a lot of damned laundry to do once a week, especially if you don't own your own washing machine or have any environmental conscience whatsoever beyond that possessed by Captain Planet villains.

//A pair of jeans goes 3-4 days for me between washes if I'm not doing anything actively dirty or sweaty with 'em, and I have lighter pants for exercise specifically to keep laundry loads down.

tallen702:VA has been one of the few states to really take probable cause to heart over the past decade. Across the border where I live in MD, we have red light cameras, speed cameras, CCTV cameras, and now they're talking about going ahead with stop-sign cameras (if you don't come to a complete stop for 4 seconds, they'll ticket you). In VA they have none of that. There seems to be the belief that probable cause means that someone has to at least be manning the equipment and making the decision that "I think that person is doing something wrong" instead of assuming everyone guilty and monitoring all of them.

Yes, but there is no power available at stop signs, so these will just be an army of drones to fly over areas typically filled with stop signs (like residential areas) to monitor all traffic. They could even be used to track speed.... and while we are at it HOA violations like uncut lawns and.... oh... now I see the problem.